Friday, January 11, 2008

You Make Me Want It

I am so susceptible to advertising. I like to think I'm quirky and unique but those advertisers have me down. There was basically an exact description of me in the book Buy, Buy Baby, which discusses the commercialization of motherhood. It described me so personally that it was eerie. Apparently I'm a huge demographic. The advertisers speak my language--which is to say, they would not be surprised by comments that I make on a daily basis which seem original like, "The baby was crying on the floor while I was blogging so I threw a pacifier to [at] her," or "No, you actually can play the Wii sitting down."

Take Mucinex, for example. This is a product whose advertising initially disgusted me. The personification of mucous is fairly off-putting. But it slowly got under my skin. What if mucous is malevolent? What if it is out to get me? And finally, What if mucous does play dirty? So I bought some to have on hand--just in case. It's like mucous is the new germs and I'm ready to fight.

But there is one ad that just hasn't taken hold of me yet. Given time, I'm sure it will. It's this yogurt that is now specially formulated to help digestion. I'm so taken in by it because the women in the commercial are likable and well-appointed. They seem like moms about my age. They are best friends--and can tease each other about holiday eating! Yet, there is something vulnerable about them, something unspoken. I'm watching. I'm into it. Yogurt was already healthy, got it. So now it's actually medicinal? OK. Great. How much and where do I get it! Wait a second. . . digestion? Who has problems with digestion? What are they talking about? What is that new yogurt for? Bloating? Gas? Diarrhea? Burping? I mean, sure I bloat--but it's from eating too much. Are they saying this new yogurt can shrink a distended belly? I don't know what problem these women are alluding to, but I want to know. I wonder if I have it but I just don't know I have it. Maybe if I try the yogurt something that I didn't know was wrong will become right. It's tempting, but this yogurt comes in such small containers. I'm not quite sold on it.

Thanks to TIVO, TV commercials have gone the way of reading. So now I look to blogs for influence. Believe me, it doesn't take much. Blogs can make me feel thirsty, hungry, generous, or inadequate. I probably try one new thing per day as recommended by blogs. Yesterday's new thing? Bird feeders. Today's new thing? Being interested in politics. What will tomorrow bring?

I have to comment because the yogurt commercial sucks me in too. I have watched it carefully for exactly the same reason and have come to the conclusion that this is a bullsh*t product. Don't buy it. Will that influence you? or should I package my message more gently and with pretty key art? Good luck in the advertising jungle.

My current horrified fascination with an ad is one that Nick Jr runs. It has parents voicing over little clips of their popular shows, saying in stunned and proud voices how smart their kids are getting from watching TV. (Yes, watch more! You will get your little genius yet, especially now that our programming runs 24 hours/day! Don't ever turn it off or your child might not reach his/her full potential!!!)

The family joke is that advertising is there for people like me...right now I really want the Kinoki Foot Pads. I also recall purchasing Windsor Pilates DVD's at 3am--whispering in the other room on the phone...and possibly Proavtive Skincare too.